Wednesday at the Port Returns!

This Wednesday at 6 pm, we begin our fall session of Wednesdays at the Port! This is a great time of Food, Faith, and Friends. Join us this week for a delicious, home-cooked meal of beef barbecue sandwiches with slaw, mac & cheese, and applesauce followed by programs for children and youth. Beginning in October, we will also offer a short study for adults beginning at 7:15 to give time for clean up after the meal.

Please pray for all of our leaders: Sue, Debbie, Joyce, and Pat in the kitchen, Tara coordinating meal volunteers, Randy and Mark running the bus, Dinah, Steve, Meg, and Chris working with youth, Lee and Holly working with kids, Liz teaching music, Barbie in charge of the nursery, and all of our many other volunteers that make this ministry possible each week! We could not do this without the help of all of you!

We also cannot provide this free meal and programming for our community without your continued financial support. While there is no charge for the meal, a donation of even $5 for the delicious meal helps cover the cost of your meal and part of the cost of a meal for one of the many children from the community who join us. Please considering making a contribution as you are able. 

Invite a friend and join us this Wednesday!

Blessings on the journey, Jim

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It Takes a Village...

This past Sunday, we finished up our series on the importance of community with a blessing of our first responders and a consideration of how God calls us to respond as a community in times of tragedy.

Sunday's Sermon Snippet: ​to Heal the Brokenness! (Luke 13:1-9)
When tragedy strikes, whether near to us or far away, one of our first instincts is to try to make sense of why it happened and who is to blame. By finding reason and pointing the finger, we separate ourselves from the pain we feel and try to regain some sense of control and order in a chaotic world. It is how we respond to tragedy. Jesus encountered this reaction in his time - people trying to make sense of tragedy. In his time (and still in our day if we are honest), it was common to place blame on the victims themselves. Understanding God as just, many people speculated that if something horrible happened to someone that God would only allow it if they deserved it. Viewing tragedy as a punishment for sin was and is a way of making sense of it. But Jesus confronted this understanding among the crowds that gathered and dismissed the easy answer. Giving two examples - one of human violence and another an accident - Jesus pointed out that the victims were no worse than those who heard him now. And yet, he said, those who heard him would die as well if they did not repent. This is not a threat but likening spiritual death of living apart from God to tragedy. For life is precious and fragile, and none of us knows when tragedy may befall us. Life is too precious and fragile to squander even a moment away from God. So how do we make sense of the tragedies we see, from the big ones that make headlines to the ones that happen everyday and everywhere in individual lives? It is in how we respond - looking to heal the brokenness and give another chance as the gardener in Jesus' parable does. God has chosen some among us to be first responders who remind us that God is with us even in the darkest of moments. But we are all called to be responders - the second responders who pray for and support the emergency personnel and victim and begin the work of recovery. We as members of the household of faith are called especially to be last responders too - sticking with survivors until we are the last folks to leave the site of a tragedy. Why do tragedies occur? We do not know, but we do know we are called to respond. It takes a village of first responders and communities of faith to heal the brokenness that occurs in our world!

Thrive: Growing in Godly Living and Giving

What difference does following Jesus make in our lives? Does following Jesus help us get by each day, or does it completely change everything about how we live our lives. Following Jesus deeply transforms our lives and helps us to thrive even in the hardest of circumstances. This Sunday, we kick off our new series "Thrive: Growing in Godly Living and Giving" as we look to some of the wisdom that the Apostle Paul left for his protege Timothy about following Jesus. Join us this week as we look at "What Money Can't Buy"!

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Last Call for Items for South River Elementary Clinic

Thank you for the abundance of items you have brought in for the South River Elementary Nurse's Clinic! If you still have any items, please bring them in this week. We will be delivering items early next week. Items needed are: Flushable wipes, Belts, Underwear: womens 7 and girls 14-16, Jello cups, Granola Bars (no nuts/peanut butter), Clorox Wipes.

Living in Community

Thank you, Keith, Dalton, Steve, and Eli for installing our new basketball goal!

Thank you, Dinah, for sharing how the village has helped you and Chris
through your times as first responders!

Thank you to all of our police officers, firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and other public servants who protect and serve our community every day!

This Week at Port Church

Tuesday, September 13
7:00 pm - Administrative Council

​Wednesday, September 14
10:00 - 12:00 - Office Hours
6:00 pm - Wednesday at the Port

​Sunday, September 18
9:30 am - Worship: "Thrive: What Money Can't Buy" 
Baptism
11:00 am - Sunday School

​Looking Ahead

Chili Cookoff and Silent Auction for Youth Missions, October 15
Charge Conference, October 23​
Drive-thru Nativity - December 9 & 10